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Coronation Street stars caught out in "corporate whore" stunt

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By Steven Raeburn, N/A

July 3, 2013 | 3 min read

Channel 4’s Dispatches programme has reportedly caught high profile Coronation Street stars in a sting that highlights a possible breach of the strict ASA product placement rules.

Actress Georgia May Foote

Actresses Brooke Vincent, Georgia May Foote, Cherylee Houston and Krissi Bohn from Coronation Street reportedly attended a fake corporate event and given products which they later tweeted about in enthusiastic terms.

The products were branded 'Puttana Aziendale', which those familiar with Italian will know translates as corporate whore.

The ASA requires twitter endorsements to be clearly marked as promotional. The Drum recently reported that celebrities are paid as much as £13,000 per tweet in product endorsement.

It has been reported that the products, an “anti-ageing skin toner” and a “zionate bracelet” were simply tap water and plain decorative jewellery.

Tweets reportedly sent by the actresses said: “'Thank you to @aziendale for my lovely healing anklet!! :) xx”, and “Absolutely love my @Aziendale bracelet and the Mustique spray!!! Can't wait to check out your other bracelets! Xxx”

In a statement, ITV said the claims were false and would take legal action against Dispatches.

“'The programme has made allegations that are false and highly defamatory and we have written to the producer threatening legal action if they decide to broadcast,” the statement said.

Another statement from ITV given to The Drum read: "Cast members responded to tweets sent directly to them by some brands to say thank you. Contrary to the allegations which have been made, they didn't receive free gifts in return for tweeting or indulge in any kind of unlawful marketing promotion.

The programme is scheduled to be broadcast during July.

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